May 2025, Article in a Peer-Reviewed Journal
Scientific Reports

Matthias Egger, Andy M. Booth, Thijs Bosker, Gert Everaert, Samantha L. Garrard, Vilma Havas, Helga S. Huntley, Albert A. Koelmans, Karin Kvale, Laurent Lebreton, Helge Niemann, Qiaotong Pang, Maira Proietti, Peter Puskic, Camille Richon, Sarah-Jeanne Royer, Matthew S. Savoca, Arjen Tjallema, Marjolein van Vulpen, Yanxu Zhang, Ziman Zhang and Denise M. Mitrano

  • Journal: Scientific Reports
  • Publication type: Article in a Peer-Reviewed Journal
  • Collaborators: The Ocean Cleanup in Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Empaqtify in St. Gallen, Switzerland; SINTEF Ocean in Trondheim, Norway; Leiden University in The Netherlands; the Flanders Marine Institute in Belgium; Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the UK; Salt Lofoten and Aalborg University in Norway and Denmark respectively; Rowan University in the USA; Wageningen University in The Netherlands; GNS Science and Aotearoa Blue Ocean Research in New Zealand; The Modelling House Limited in New Zealand; NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University in The Netherlands; Nanjing University in China; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande in Brazil; the University of Tasmania and the Center for Marine Socioecology in Australia; CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, LEMAR, and University Brest in France; Stanford University and the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation in the USA; Tulane University in the USA; and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich in Switzerland.
  • Publication date: May 27, 2025
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-00619-w

Abstract

Cleanup of existing plastic pollution is crucial to mitigate its impact on marine ecosystems, but such efforts must ensure benefits outweigh potential environmental damage caused by the cleanup. Here, we present an impact assessment framework and apply it to evaluate whether cleaning the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP) benefits marine life and carbon cycling, using The Ocean Cleanup as a case study. Our findings indicate that marine life is more vulnerable to plastic pollution than to macroplastic cleanup, with average vulnerability scores (1 = low, 3 = high) of 2.3 for macroplastics, 1.9 for microplastics, and 1.8 for cleanup, suggesting a net positive impact. An 80% cleanup could reduce macroplastic concentrations to within reported safe levels for marine mammals and sea turtles. Estimated cleanup-related carbon emissions [0.4–2.9 million metric tons (Mt) in total] are significantly lower than potential long-term microplastics impacts on ocean carbon sequestration (15–30 Mt C per year). However, uncertainties remain regarding effects on air-sea carbon exchange. Our framework serves as a critical tool for assessing trade-offs between plastic pollution and remediation impacts. It demonstrates the environmental net benefits of the proposed NPGP cleanup and can be adapted to similarly evaluate other remediation plans.